I have recently become a convert to upsampling my PCM. It seems to increase resonance, imaging and details. I upsample in Jriver as follows
44, 88 & 176 converts to 352 khz
48, 96 & 192 converts to 384 khz
This formula uses factors of 2, 4 & 8 and satisfies the mathematician in my head. It also seems to sound better, especially upsampling 44 to 352 instead of 384.
I play all files in native format and never convert. The dsd I play as is.
I'm not saying this doesn't work, but man, I'm just not hearing it. Is there any particular recording that you recommend a listen with these settings?
I'll tell you what
does work in Jriver though.
iFi crew, you might want to give this a try, too, and see what you think.
For the Love of MONO in the Bog...
For anyone who's tried it, listening to Mono on headphones produces less than desirable results. There's little doubt that mono recordings sound best with speakers, in the home, in the car, but especially with a nice turntable and tube gear.
Well, I've been playing a little bit with my iDSD micro, and after a little time, the thing is really opening up (though I admit after 216 hours of burn in, I've only put about 4 hours of listening in, tops [if that]). Nevertheless, gone is that compressed sound I had originally heard, so I don't think it's my mind getting used to it.
Anyway, I'm not a big fan of changing settings within my music player. Jriver has a lot of cool features, but I've always felt that they've been just toys, when the real sound I want is what the artist ended (or as close as we can get). For some reason I started messing around with the Room Correction feature in Jriver, even though this is meant for speakers.
Long story short, I've made a very close stereo simulation out of mono recordings, without any EQ, where it doesn't sound at all artificial. In fact, it still sounds very organic, very period, but without the flatness one get from mono recordings in cans. This is for those people who appreciate the difference between mono and stereo mixes, but want to keep their cans on:
Go to DSP Studio - > Room Correction. Choose the Left Speaker at set it at 35.0 ft. Do not mess with the volume. Check the Reverse Polarity box (This is an aspect that helps keep the balance of what I'm proposing)
Next, go to the Right Speaker. Set the Right Speaker at 24.5 ft. Then, set the volume at +2.1 db, which is also going to help you balance the "mix."
Voila! There you have it! It's sort of a mock stereo effect, much like the reverse of a fold down mono mix. I've tried many mono recordings: Several Beatles albums, the Beach Boys "Pet Sounds," Jimi Hendrix's mono mixes of "Are Your Experienced" and "Axis: Bold as Love," The Door's "The Doors" (1967) in mono, some early Steve Miller mono, some Elvis and a little '50s jazz, by various. Oh, and Billie Holliday gets new life in mono.
NOTE: This gives the sound more heft. It makes it sound fuller, without losing the nuances that makes mono mixes so unique and special.
Check it out. I might have to post this on the JRiver site.
